Saturday, March 7, 2015

Over the Hump?



This is an old photo, but since my hemming pile is about the same size...

Well, not quite - I have actually been hemming the last few evenings and the pile is diminishing nicely.  Doug will soon have a pile of pressing to deal with.

I won't go into details, but I have this past year seen a lot of 'aging' happening plus some adverse effects from the surgery have left me much more compromised than I had hoped.  While it is still early days, plus some things have actually gotten better, I'm hoping to recover greater mobility than what I have at the minute.  But some things won't ever get 'better' and I am going to have to wait to find out what my new limitations are going to be.

As Bette Davis said, growing old is not for sissies...

That said, week 6 did see some significant improvement and today I took my first stand up shower which felt wonderful.  Sitting to shower just doesn't seem...right.

I have regained some mobility in my left hand and can now type reasonably well - except I keep hitting the Cap Lock key, which is annoying.  But at least I can type for short periods.  I'm hoping that as I keep working at the keyboard it will continue to improve.

Knitting was a challenge but I think played a big role is recovering movement in my hand.  Hemming was also..interesting...you take for granted the full use of your body and when you don't have that, all sorts of things become a lot more difficult.

Walking proceeds.  I did the full loop of the neighbourhood yesterday - twice.  With sunshine today I'm looking forward to doing that again.  But rain is predicted all next week, so I will have to dig out rain gear or go to the mall.

I'm still waiting on a phone call from the cardiologist's office for the all clear to begin physio.  I'm really hoping to get the call next week so I can begin the recovery part of the the journey now that the healing part is pretty much done.  I don't want to try weaving until I have that all clear and some physio to judge how much effort I can do without straining.  Weaving *is* physical, especially the way I do it.  I have to watch my heart rate and not send it too high, especially to begin with.  Of course I'm still on a fairly high dose of beta-blocker so I may not be able to do too much aerobic activity while I'm taking that.  Time will tell and I need to watch to make sure I don't overdo.

The biggest advance is that I'm beginning to think again.  I have had several things on hold because I just didn't have the brain power or energy to deal with them.  I think I'm nearly ready, especially now that I can more or less type again.

Quite a few people who have been through this surgery have been in touch.  It appears recovery can take up to three years for some people.  I'm hoping that it won't take that long for me.

Currently reading A Question of Identify by Susan Hill.  Apparently I've read it previously but I can't remember the ending so I will continue reading until I do - or I finish it.


7 comments:

Rhonda from Baddeck said...

I'm so glad you're able to do some knitting and hemming again! I know it feels good to finally see something tangible and fibre-y produced by your hands. Can you call the doctor to find out if it's OK to start physio? Does he need to see you first? I hope you're able to get back to the loom soon!

Laura Fry said...

If I don't hear anything soon, I will try to find out when they will be able to fit me in. One of the down sides of living in a small town...very few specialists so it can be difficult to get an appointment. :-/

Cheers
Laura

Anonymous said...

Laura, it sounds like you are progressing nicely. Take it slowly - remember the turtle won the race!

Peg Cherre said...

Good to 'hear your voice' again. I have seen some of your comments on Weavo, but this is much better. Patience, my dear, patience. Adaptation is the thing, and I know you're good at it.

FYI, your Efficient Weaver DVD was brought up at my Guild meeting today as a hit!

barbara said...

Hi Laura - sounds like you are progressing through your recovery quite nicely. I know it is probably not as fast as you would like; and I am impressed you are taking it easy. Baby Steps are good, and nice that you have been out walking and getting fresh air, etc. Once you get the go-ahead with physio - you will have accomplished a big hurdle. Just don't be in too much of a rush. Weaverly yours .....

cate markey said...

You continue to inspire us all Laura. I appreciate hearing your progress, successes and challenges • love and healing thoughts .

Sandra Rude said...

I think you'll find that the rate of improvement will be gradually faster from here on out. Take care, don't overdo it, but if you don't push a little bit harder each day, it'll take longer to improve!